The European Parliament’s probe into car emissions should help create an “ever cleaner union” in the aftermath of the Volkswagen AG scandal, the head of the legislature’s inquiry committee said Wednesday.

Kathleen Van Brempt, a Belgian member of the Socialists & Democrats group in Parliament, was elected president of the 45-member committee on Wednesday. The committee, which will meet for a first time on March 22, intends to investigate why European authorities for years failed to catch Volkswagen’s cheating on emissions tests.

Here’s an edited transcript of Real Time Brussels’ interview with Ms. Van Brempt: